Last weekend, Mondo returned to Los Angeles for another highly anticipated Mystery Movie. You may recall when we interviewed Mondo CEO Justin Ishmael at SDCC, he mentioned they were finally going to put on an event that was years in the making. The moment tickets went on sale the rumor mill went into overdrive guessing just about every major movie and possible scenario, and while there was just one movie that was not only the most predicted, but the most coveted. That movie was Die Hard. Well, Mondo did not disappoint and if you hit the jump you can check out images from the event and the poster that everyone went home with.
From the moment I arrived in the late afternoon at The Crest Theater in Westwood, I knew it was going to be a good night. There was already a decent line and everyone seemed to be pretty pumped for the evenings secretive plans. The first clue to what we might be in for, was when a single limousine pulled up and began transporting about 6 people at a time a few miles roundtrip. Inside the vehicle sat a lone teddy bear wearing a Mondo T-Shirt and plenty of complimentary beverages. We were never told where we going but if you were observant enough, you would notice the limo passed right by the Fox Plaza, or more commonly known as Nakatomi Plaza.
Once we returned to the theater, it became pretty clear what we were in for when signs were posted on the front doors that we must remove our shoes before entering. Attendees were so sure it was Die Hard that some very generous people even began randomly handing out Twinkies. When the doors finally opened, they made sure we took our shoes off “because it was such an old theater”, but we knew what was really going on. Sure enough, after passing through the lobby and into the actual theater, our path soon became covered with glass. Obviously Mondo didn’t feel like handing out free prints for life in reparations for damaged feet, so as real as the glass looked it was a handmade rubber look alike. The Mondo team actually hand made all of it themselves days prior to the event.
After all the seats were filled and we were ready to begin, Justin took center stage to announce that a special guest had arrived to reveal the film. Walking out to a standing ovation, Sgt. Al Powell himself, Reginald VelJohnson confirmed everyone’s suspicions with the tale of how he landed the role. When he finished his speech, Justin let everyone know that we would be watching an original 35mm print version and that there would be more to come following the film.
After the credits rolled, Justin finally unveiled the print by artist Laurent Durieux that came in a regular, variant, and metal super variant flavor depending on the price level you bought to attend the event. Also included in everyone’s tubes was a reproduction of an original bearer bond that was used as a prop in the film. Fox Studios allowed Mondo to make a high res scan of one and then they had Shepard Fairey’s people print up some duplications for everyone in attendance. Everyone also received a Sgt. Al Powell handbill from Tyler Stout that Mr. VelJohnson was quite flattered by. Mondo also announced an upcoming Durieux solo gallery show at their Austin Gallery on February 7th, 2014.
There was still one more surprise left though as we were all asked to check below our seats for some lost detonators. Just a matter of seats down from me a lucky guest found them taped to his chair with the same kind of tape John McClane used to adhere his gun to his back. Trading the detonators back to Justin netted this gentleman a special 1 of 1 glass variant of the print, being not just the only glass print I know of, but the only single variant Mondo has ever done! Not a bad prize for sitting on some explosive triggers for a couple hours. That pretty piece of glass also had a different tag line at the top, urging Karl to shoot the glass instead of declaring you now have a machine gun.
Overall it was a great evening that consisted of a ton of fun, one of the best holiday movies, a great piece of art, and some even better people. Mondo really knows how to put on an event and being that they really only want to use the Mystery Movies to do something special, I am very excited to see what they do next (although I am sure that will be probably a year away). If any you guys made it out to the event, let us know what you think in the comments below. If you weren’t able to make it, I would love to know what you think about the print. All in all, a big thanks to Mondo for putting this on and hopefully this means we will also see some more great Die Hard art in the future!
Mondo Mystery Movie 11: DIE HARD from Mondo on Vimeo.